A glance into how the cold war and governmental loyalty investigations came to affect a leading U.S. radiation geneticist: Lewis J. Stadler's nightmare.

ABSTRACT

This paper describes an episode in the life of the prominent plant radiation geneticist, Lewis J. Stadler (1897-1954) during which he became a target of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concerning loyalty to the United States due to possible associations with the communist party. The research is based on considerable private correspondence of Dr. Stadler, the FBI interrogatory questions and Dr. Stadler's answers and letters of support for Dr. Stadler by leading scientists such as, Hermann J. Muller.